Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, "The LORD has seen my trouble, and now my husband will love me"; so she named him Reuben.

She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, "The LORD has given me this son also, because he heard that I was not loved"; so she named him Simeon.

who heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

He saw the slavery of the Israelites and was concerned for them.

Then the LORD said, "I have seen how cruelly my people are being treated in Egypt; I have heard them cry out to be rescued from their slave drivers. I know all about their sufferings,

and so I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of Egypt to a spacious land, one which is rich and fertile and in which the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites now live.

Hannah made a solemn promise: " LORD Almighty, look at me, your servant! See my trouble and remember me! Don't forget me! If you give me a son, I promise that I will dedicate him to you for his whole life and that he will never have his hair cut."

Consider my distress and suffering and forgive all my sins.

But the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; instead he turned the curse into a blessing, because he loved you.

Israel has not been punished by the LORD as severely as its enemies nor lost as many people.

"Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are my followers.

Be happy and glad, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. This is how the prophets who lived before you were persecuted.

We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.

And this small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble.

and he will give relief to you who suffer and to us as well. He will do this when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven with his mighty angels,

Our human fathers punished us for a short time, as it seemed right to them; but God does it for our own good, so that we may share his holiness.

My dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful test you are suffering, as though something unusual were happening to you.

Happy are you if you are insulted because you are Christ's followers; this means that the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is resting on you.

However, if you suffer because you are a Christian, don't be ashamed of it, but thank God that you bear Christ's name.

As the scripture says, "It is difficult for good people to be saved; what, then, will become of godless sinners?"